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Marae Tefano, with its ahu or altar of standing stones and a giant banyan tree, at Haapiti, at the archaeological site at Maeva village, on Huahine-Nui on the island of Huahine, in the Leeward Islands, part of the Society Islands, in French Polynesia. The marae consists of a stone courtyard with platform and standing stones, used as a ceremonial and religious site. These sites were home to the royal chieftains encountered by James Cook and were abandoned c. 1800. Maeva is thought to be an...more »

Marae Tefano, with its ahu or altar of standing stones and a giant banyan tree, at Haapiti, at the archaeological site at Maeva village, on Huahine-Nui on the island of Huahine, in the Leeward Islands, part of the Society Islands, in French Polynesia. The marae consists of a stone courtyard with platform and standing stones, used as a ceremonial and religious site. These sites were home to the royal chieftains encountered by James Cook and were abandoned c. 1800. Maeva is thought to be an abandoned royal settlement, with many megalithic structures including marae, houses, agricultural structures, stone fish traps and fortification walls. Picture by Manuel Cohen« less